Don’t Give Up If You Think You’re Good

According to Seth Meyers, who served as head writer for SNL for a while, the More Cowbell Sketch was submitted over seven times before making the show.

The sketch is often considered one of the greatest SNL sketches ever made, and in many “best of” lists regarding SNL sketches, it is often placed in the top ten, being ranked number nine by Rolling Stone. As a result of its popularity, “more cowbell” became an American pop culture catchphrase.

Considered one of the greatest skits ever, and it was rejected at least six times.

What if they’d have quit after three or four tries?

Steven Spielberg is probably my favorite director, and we think he’s had nothing but success, but that’s not true.

The movie Spielberg directed before the world wide blockbuster Jurassic Park?

Hook.

Not wildly popular OR successful.

In fact, if you look over his movies, there are lots of “bad” ones in there.

Like Jackson Brown told Eagles singer/songwriter Glenn Frey, when the fledging band was struggling. Frey was worried. “What if the songs I write are bad?”

Brown had the answer. “You’ll write some bad songs. But you’ll write some good songs, too.”

Thanks, Dan. Great advice at the perfect time. I’m just preparing myself to start submitting. I’ve got a shortlist, ordered by preference, of who I’m going to approach. Being my first time, I have to say I’m quite scared, but if I don’t at least try I’ll never know!!

Tess, I’m 71, commercially published for the first time with Dan’s “The Box Under the Bed” anthology! I’ve worked joyfully with writing all my life and with self-publishing my stories for a long time. I published young writers, as well as submitted my own manuscripts a time, or three, in my twenties for traditional publication. The greatest joy in my life is writing. I love every aspect of it. Yet, this first commercial success afforded by Dan’s writing contest and resultant anthology is very flavorful, indeed, for me ! Keep going, Tess!!! You’ll be happy you did !!

[…] depressed, tired of life? Don’t keep that up! Here’s a short, down-to-earth post by author Dan Alatorre to help dispel the writer’s imposter syndrome that all some I have been feeling this summer […]